Curl abuse!

I just finished reading through the Game of Thrones- series and am now eagerly awaiting the winds of winter.

Awesome books!

But, the hair nerd in me can’t help but notice that George R. R. Martin is a real curl-abuser.

So many descriptions of curly hair being brushed!

And I cringe every single time.

Especially when he writes how curls are being “brushed until they shine”.

Uhm, nope. Curls do not work that way!

Knot-braid

The knotted bun back in may wasn’t a complete success, but I tried a knotted “braid” to see how that worked.

For the first hour or so, it looked really cool, but then the knots started sliding down the length and it ended up with the knots starting at shoulder length.

Hm. I was very careful to make them tight: Shifted my grip, tightened the knot, shifted the strands around and tightened again before making the next knot.

And yet it slipped.

Too bad. I thought it looked pretty cool, but I have no interest in a hair do that can’t remain in place during a normal day without me needing to fuss over it more.

Maybe it needs a bunch of hair scroos to keep the knots in place?

Rant ahead

Seriously, why is it so hard for delivery services to provide an actual service?

I’m not picky at all: I just want them to deliver the package I order without any weird issues.

But no, that is too much to ask for.

Like today…

14:35 I go from the computer room to the kitchen to get a drink. Then think to myself “Hm, maybe I should check the mailbox since my skintore.com-order should be right around the corner.”

There is a note from UPS in the mail. “We tried to deliver your package at 14:30”.

Crap.

Okay, since I just came from the computer room which has two doors between it and the outer door, and our computer park minus my grey laptop humming in it, I can somewhat suspect I didn’t hear the doorbell if you don’t knock or press the doorbell hard (Press light = Low ring, press hard = Loud ring)

It is never our friends or visitors that have issues with the door though. Only delivery services. And they all have the same explanation, that of course did they ring or knock. 

I’ve heard that lie line before.

So I call UPS. And they are so, so, so very, very sorry. Blah blah. I’ve heard that lie line before.

I ask them if they can try to deliver it today and of course they can and he will send a message to the courier.

21:30 here and no package. Of course not. I didn’t even expect it for a second… 

Because I’ve heard that line lie before. 

Stumbled upon something that might be useful

I’ve been more interested in doing a million other fun things that take care of my hair the last week. So it got quite dirty with both greasy sebum and the flaky, waxy stuff.

It really needed a good scritching and a CO-wash.

This morning I suddenly found myself obsessed with the colour difference between my ends and the roots. I get those fits from time to time. It doesn’t matter how much I tell myself that it’s just natural and the result of me being outside in sunlight and general wear from the last 12½ years. Or that everyone has fade of some degree.

So, acting on my fade-fit, I threw my braid up in a bun and slathered raw honey on the scalp-hairs. My thought was that a quick honey-lightening would even out the colour. I pretty much covered everything except the bun and used a comb to “rake” the honey down a bit.

5 minutes later I was full of regret and jumped in the shower to rinse the honey out.

Gotta say that for my random fade-fits: They come in strong, but fade fast. Haha.

With the honey out of my hair, I had lost the desire to further clean my hair and just braided it and ignored it.

But now I just realised that all the flakes are gone. They honey must have sucked them up?

My hair is still pretty greasy and need a wash, but the waxy stuff is completely gone.

Honey removes waxy build up but not grease?

Odd.

So honey + flakes + rinse = Flakes are gone, but the oil remains?

This requires more experimentation. 

Rewarding myself

It’s so odd not having a million things on my to do-list. Since April last year I’ve been crazy busy all the time and now I only have “Kinda want to”-items left on my to do-list.

It’s not easy to gear down though.

Poor Hubby has been going crazy over my energy.

I’ve been keeping the place spotless and making lots of plans. The lights are all fixed. Then I cleared out the closet in the hallway that ended up being our “I don’t know where else to put this”-storage. I put up the planner and 3 hooks in the hallway, so now we have a nice place to grab important things before leaving the apartment.

Quite pleased with myself for that.

I want to give my skin a break from Clinique. It works fairly well for me, but I’ve been reading up on skincare a lot and I wanted to try something new.

My choice?

French brand Avène. 

It’s not as popular here in Sweden as it is in Denmark, so it took a bit of looking before I found a pharmacy that carried it.

And when I finally did, they didn’t carry any toners!

Bah!

I ended up ordering toner and body lotion from http://www.apotea.se/

I don’t understand why they don’t stock it, or how you can skip toner.

The natural pH value of skin is acidic to protect itself by having a hostile environment for invading bacteria and fungus. The pH on healthy skin is usually said to be around 4-5 (dependent on source) and pure water has a pH at around 7. This means than after rinsing your cleansing product off, your skin has been pushed towards an unnatural pH value. Toner is acidic and will restore the pH value quick. It is also said to clear up the last remnants of your cleansing product, tighten pores back up and prepare your skin to receive the following moisturising products.

The collection so far. Should be increased tomorrow when the mail arrives…

I have wanted a Clarisonic plus for a while and decided to finally get one to reward myself.  

I randomly learned you could buy then in Magasin some time back when I was handed a shopping magazine from them at Copenhagen central station on my way home. Unfortunately it turned out they don’t ship outside of Denmark.

Now there is something that baffles and irritates me: Since the customer pays for the shipping anyways, why the [bleep] would they limit shipping to Denmark? They don’t even ship to Greenland or the Faroe islands that tends to count as “Denmark” too. Why would you force potential customers to find another place to shop? Is it really so much trouble to print an extra line on the shipping address?

Weak.

Some Googling later and I had the option of either buying one in the US, having it shipped here and risking customs being a pain. Or… Buying it at Kicks. Kicks is a chain in Sweden and they are honestly awful. The staff is responsible for the worst “service” I ever encountered.

Against my better judgement, I tried to place an order on their webshop.

Surprise, surprise (Not) it turned out that the rude, horrible and useless staff extends to a horrible and useless website.

Their stupid website wouldn’t let me place my order.

So, less than 5 minutes later I successfully placed an order at Skinstore.

They even have 20% off for the rest of the month, so it came to about half of what I would have spent at Kicks, even with an extra brush head and shipping!

Now I’m just crossing my fingers for customs not to be assholes…  

I’ve been considering signing up for Glossybox for ages, but I keep being undecided.

Glossybox is one of many subscription-boxes around the world, where you get a selection of beauty products delivered to your door at regular intervals.

Pros

• I would get to try a lot of new products. Fun!
• The values of the collected products are always higher than the subscription fee
• Easy and delivered right to my door

Cons

• You have no influence at all on the selection of products
• There will be a lot of products I wouldn’t use: The makeup and the skin stuff. So a lot of the subscription fee would be wasted money for me
• Some of the products honestly seem lame. Tooth paste? Seriously?

But then I learned about a much more interesting alternative: The Memebox!

(Yea, I was confused at the name too. But it’s pronounced “mi-mi”, not “me-em” like the internet phenomenon) 

Like the Glossybox, you get a box of beauty products shipped to you.

But unlike Glossybox, there is no subscription and you get to pick the theme for the box. Also it is a lot more "exotic" with Asian products!

So I went a little crazy...

Also I ordered a few sheet masks that I can't be bothered to link to.

Memebox Special Super Food Box

Sounded like fun, so I decided to try it.

Ships on August 14th

Memebox Special Hair & Body 3

Might be something good in here. 

Ships on August 14th

Memebox Special K-Beauty Wrap-Up

Best of the best of Korean beauty products from 2014. I'm quite curious to see if Korean products are really as good as the hype says. I've read a bunch of times that they are 10-12 years ahead of us when it comes to makeup and skin care.

Will be quite interesting to see how much of this I can actually use!

Ships on August 14th

Memebox Special Mask Edition 4

Although my skin is very sensitive, I have only once had a problem with a facial mask. I guess when you only leave it on for your skin for 15 minutes once a week, it's not enough to cause problems? 

Ships July 18th

Memebox Special #14 Zero Cosmetics

Now this should be a box with stuff I can actually use without problems.

Ships August 5th

Superbox Hair Care

I already know what will be in this one since they have it "unboxed":

1. SAEROM COSMETICS  RNA-3 Hair Repair Keratin Water 30ml ($6) 

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 

This damage care hair treatment was created by a famous Korean hair designer who believed beautiful, healthy hair can only be maintained through continuous home treatments.Enriched with fermented extracts from natural grains and proteins, its replenishing properties will effectively nourish and strengthen your damaged hair.
HOW TO USE 

This hair treatment is definitely a one-of-a-kind in that there’s no need to rinse it off; you can simply spray the product on after blow-drying your hair.
2. BOUTIQUE BEBE Hair Salon Ampoule 24ml ($15) 

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 

Boutique Bebe is a brand which promotes against excessively expensive hair treatments containing unnatural, harmful ingredients. Thus, they take great pride in this Hair Salon Ampoule made from various natural sources of protein and nutrition – bean flour, olive oil, red bean, plant roots, cnidium, and Korean honey locust.
HOW TO USE  

Apply on dry hair with your hands, making sure to spread it evenly throughout. It can also be used over night for intensive care. If you want a full course salon clinic, apply the hair ampoule generously after towel-drying your hair. Then, apply another layer of a hair treatment on top and let it rest for 20 minutes before rinsing it all off. Finish with a hair essence for maximum results.

3. ESTHETIC HOUSE CP-1 Ceramide Treatment Protein Repair System 25ml ($19) 

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 

This intensive protein hair clinic is in the form a syringe, making it very sanitary and easy to use. It works to deliver deep nourishment and healthier luster to your dry, damaged hair. Depending on your hair length, it can be used 1~3 times.
HOW TO USE 

Rinse off thoroughly and towel-dry before applying the product. Take an adequate amount and evenly apply it throughout your hair and rinse off after 5~10 minutes.
4. GREEN TREE Baobab Oil 125ml ($12) 

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 

Baobab trees are well-acknowledged moisture tanks, capable of surviving in the driest areas in the world. Plus, the baobab oil is packed full of omega 3, 6, 9 and vitamins A, C, D, E, with its vitamin C concentration doubling that of an orange. Thus, this baobab hair oil is sure to bring a deep moisture resurge to your hair, tired and lusterless from frequent hair perms and dyes.
HOW TO USE 

After towel-drying your wet hair, take a dime-sized quantity of the hair oil on your palm and gently apply it in damaged areas of your hair. It can also be used after blow-drying for a silkier finish.
5. GLAM UP Brilliant Steam Hair Pack 1ea ($13) 

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 

Mask packs aren’t only for your face. With Glam Up’s steam hair pack, you can easily care for your hair’s nutrition and oil/moisture balance, and your scalp condition all at the same time. The collagen from the hair pack will strengthen your hair for a healthier and shinier hair texture.
HOW TO USE 

After towel-drying your hair, wear the steam hair pack like a hat, making sure to tuck in all loose strands using the fastening sticker included. Gently massage with your hands and let it rest for 10~15 minutes before rinsing off.
6. ASSOSTER Scalp Scaling Gel 60ml ($8) 

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 

Shampooing isn’t enough for removing all excess dead skin cells or dandruffs from your scalp. This scaling gel is basically a deep cleanser product for your scalp and it will instantly soothe and nourish the scalp and effectively control any excess residues.
HOW TO USE 

Apply small amounts of the scaling gel in throughout your scalp and rinse off. It can be used on both wet and dried hair.
7. ASSOTER Scalp Massaging Brush 1ea ($7) 

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 

This scalp massaging brush is the perfect item for an everyday scalp care for maintaining healthy scalp conditions and preventing any possible damages to your scalp.
HOW TO USE 

Thoroughly massage your scalp using the brush for 3~5 minutes.

This one should ship any moment now...